More Money, More Internet

As Santa Fe Public Schools moves forward with its digital learning plan, up-to-date classrooms sport document projectors, smartboards and computers, but some classrooms don't have the 21st-century upgrades. The district is halfway through its rollout and now can't complete that plan without more money to pay for it.

With state funding in short supply, the school district has turned to Santa Fe voters to extend an existing tax levy to provide $33 million to continue upgrading Internet speeds in school, add computers and provide technical support for teachers.

The New Mexico Public Education Department's chosen standardized test, the PARCC, also requires schools to have computers available for students to take those tests on, and that requirement left some schools scrambling last year.

Taxes won't increase above the $1.50 per $1,000 of taxable property value—average property owners pay $10 per month, according to the district, as they have for the previous two years.

The state doesn't maintain a special fund for educational technology, the district argues, and the operational budget isn't sufficient even to cover basics needs (a case the superintendent is making in an ongoing lawsuit against the state education department).

Early voting on the tax takes place through Jan. 29 from 8 am to 5 pm at Nina Otero Community School at 5901 Herrera Drive, the Educational Services Center at 610 Alta Vista St., and Santa Fe County Clerk's office at 102 Grant Ave. The election will be Feb. 2, with voting centers around the city open 7 am to 7 pm.

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